I am battling with the absurd power usage of ubuntu 11.04. On windows 7 (which came preinstalled) I can get around 4:30 hours turning everything off (wifi, bluetooth, lowest brightness for screen) with same settings I get 2 hours with ubuntu. I was wondering if I install xubuntu will that help me reduce my power usage?

Partially, Xubuntu uses less resources than Ubuntu therefore it doesn't stress your computer as much, however they both come with kernel 2.6.38 which has a bug that increases the power usage.
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Uri HerreraAug 1 '11 at 18:12

2

I would use try lubuntu instead.. which should use much less resources than Xubuntu.
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user606723Aug 1 '11 at 18:29

I don't think this is Ubuntu's fault. Battery life on a computer decreases over time. Ubuntu isn't going to steal two hours of battery life, I know this because I have a netbook which gets the same battery life as it did when it was running Windows XP. It is currently running Ubuntu.

I don't think you understand, ubuntu is not able to manage the dual graphics cards on systems like mine. Thus it keeps the nVidia and on board intel graphics card all the time. Thus it is ubuntu's fault that I lose battery even if I am not using those cards. But to be fair it is the whole linux kernel's problem
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Rick_2047Nov 7 '11 at 8:26

Hmm... Have you tried installing the nvidia drivers and looking at their configuration utilities?
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WilliamNov 7 '11 at 12:46

That is the problem, nVidia does not give drivers for this tech (called nVidia optimus) otherwise it takes a day or two for new kernel update.
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Rick_2047Nov 7 '11 at 13:53